The formula for potato salad is pretty simple:

• Some cooked starchy vegetable(s)
• Some aromatic vegetable(s)
• Some mayonnaise-like binder
• Some seasoning

I had some cooked quinoa and left over sauteed green beans and mushrooms.  Here is what I came up with:

Summer Quinoa and Vegetable salad

• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup cooked green beans. chopped
• 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1T fresh parsley, chopped
• 3T mayonnaise
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up.  Makes about 3 servings.

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Quinoa is high in protein (12%-18%) and has a complete set of amino acids unlike most other grains.  This makes quinoa especially good for vegans and vegetarians that don’t get protein from animal products.  Quinoa is also high in fiber, phosphorous, magnesium and iron.  It also has no gluten.

Quinoa is also very low on the glycemic index with a value of 35.  Foods with a low glycemic index are great for diabetics and anyone watching his/her weight.  By comparison brown rice has a glycemic index of 50, white rice 85, and corn syrup 115 (which goes into many commercially processed foods).

There is a very complete article of quinoa at Wikipedia.

Cook quinoa just like you cook rice except use 2 cups water for every cup of quinoa.  If you search online you will find many recipes that use quinoa.  Quinoa also comes ground as a flour that can be used in recipes calling for rice, oat, or other flours that contain no gluten.

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As usual, I had some things in the fridge that needed to be used up.  The items I started with were red snapper filets, cooked red and yellow quinoa, 1/2 a small onion and some mushrooms.  A few more ingredients and I ended up with a very nice Sunday lunch.

Red snapper with cajun spices isn’t exactly unique, but it sure is tasty!  Cajun spice mixes are inexpensive, but contain mostly salt and sugar, which is even cheaper.  I make my own:

Cajun spice mix

• 1T paprika
• 1T garlic powder
• 1t salt
• 1t cayenne pepper
• 1t dried thyme
• 1t black pepper

Because I use less salt that regular cajun seasoning you can lay it on thick for more flavor.  You might need to play withe ratios to get something just right for you.  This would also be great on chicken or mixed into flour for fried chicken.

I mixed this with some whole wheat flour and then dredged and fried the snapper filets in olive oil for about 5 min on each side.

The quinoa side was really the fusion part.  Quinoa is a common staple in South America- especially Peru.  I then combined some flavors of Spain like olives and smoked paprika.  The result was very unique, tasty AND healthy!

Spanish/Peruvian Quinoa

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 8 olives, mixed green and black, chopped
• 1-2t olive oil
• 2t Spanish smoked paprika
• salt and pepper

I sauteed the onion in the olive oil until starting to soften, about 5 min then added the mushrooms and cooked for another 5 min.  I then added the olives, quinoa and paprika until everything was hot, about another 5 min.  This made about two servings.  I think some fresh cilantro would have made a tasty garnish.  I need to write that on my shopping list!

You could go in all sorts of directions with this.  I love to pull in Asian flavors like ginger and miso.  You could marinate the snapper in miso and soy sauce and then flavor the quinoa with ginger, garlic and sesame oil- heck, you could change the quinoa to couscous or rice!

I’d love to hear any combinations you come up with or ideas to make this better.

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I love pork shoulder for many reasons:

• It’s cheap!  I paid $1.39/lb for the last one I bought, but I often can find them for $0.99/lb.
• It’s easy!  It doesn’t need a lot of prep.
• It’s versatile!  Once cooked it can be used as an ingredient in many ways.
• It’s delicious!  It does have some fat on it, but as a result is super tasty.

Pork shoulder is one of those cuts that needs to cook a long time.  Unless you’re good with the pressure cooker, don’t even think about pulling a shoulder out of the fridge an hour before dinner time!  I either slow roast it in the oven for 3-4 hours at 275F degrees or put it in the crock pot.  Either way, I simply season it with some salt and pepper and then let time and heat do the work.  Cook it long enough so that it’s tender.  A good test is to try to pick it up by the bone- the meat should practically fall off.  So now that you have this cooked shoulder, what do you do with it?

Meal #1: BBQ Pulled Pork and slaw wraps

My inspiration for this was a southern bbq pork and slaw sandwich.  I don’t like the sweet and sour taste of most slaws so I make my own with no sugar or vinegar.  Mine has a much fresher, lighter taste.  I’ll do a future write up on my many variations of slaw.  I also don’t like all the sugar you get from commercial bbq sauce so I make my own.  Pulled pork is best with a sauce of mostly vinegar anyway.  The vinegar really helps cut the richness of the pork.  Whole grain tortillas took the place of white buns.

I took a hunk of the pork and shredded it with a fork.  Don’t cut it first because you want long, stringy fibers.  I added some homemade BBQ sauce consisting of ketchup, cider vinegar, onion and garlic powder, liquid smoke and a bit of stevia to make it a little sweeter.  A minute in the microwave and it was tasty BBQ pulled pork.  I made a really simple fresh slaw of red and green cabbage sliced very thinly with a bit of mayo, cream, celery salt and pepper.  My wife had the whole thing rolled into a burrito shape, while I turned the same ingredients into taco-shaped things using two smaller tortillas.  (Sorry, no pics for this one.)

Meal #2: Pork with quinoa pilaf

The wonderful texture of carnitas was an inspiration for this.  I love the soft, tender pork with crisp, chewy edges.  The ingredients were just what I had on hand, which is the way my recipes often come together.  This took all of about 10 minutes to come together.

I cut the pork into chunks and then fried it in a nonstick skillet until it was hot and sizzling.  The longer you cook it, the crisper the edges will get.

I already had some cooked quinoa in the fridge.  I microwaved it for a minute with fresh garlic, green onions and bit of butter and salt to turn it into a very tasty and low glycemic pilaf.  A little cheese and my homemade habanero hot sauce on the pork and it all came together into a very tasty breakfast. mmmm….

This is just a tiny fraction of the variations of things you could make with a pork shoulder.  Here are some more ideas…

• My dad is from China and used to cook a shoulder and eat it with a dipping sauce of 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 sesame oil.  There’s also a chinese green onion and ginger sauce that would go well.
• Fry it up and use it as carnitas.  You could add a tiny bit of orange juice and oregano into the pan to add the hint of mexican flavors traditionally used for carnitas.
• Put on a cuban sandwich along with ham, pickles and cheese.  Fry the whole sandwich with a weight on it, like a panini.

I hope this gives you some ideas for creations of your own.  Post a comment and tell us what you did with your shoulder!

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